Grad Events
| event calendar - studentgroupevents |
| Monday, 05/19/08 20:00 - 21:30 | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
http://www.treceentremil.com/Criticas/Criticas.html Thirteen Among a Thousand Trece Entre Mil (Documentary - Spain) Running time: 90 MIN. Directed by Iñaki Arteta - Review by Jonathan Holland for Variety Magazine An interview-based investigation into the human consequences of terrorism that is moving, thought-provoking and appalling in equal measure, Inaki Arteta's "Thirteen Among a Thousand" is the latest in a surprisingly small number of Spanish docus to deal with the impact of the Basque terrorist group ETA on Spanish society over the past 30 years. Domestic business has been slow for a project that may lack context for offshore auds, but whose urgently contempo subject deserves as much fest exposure as the more explicitly political item to which it's somewhat of a complement, Julio Medem's "Basque Ball." In selecting his 13 victims from the thousand ETA has killed (hence the title), helmer has used stories involving a range of people from children to local politicians (who lived with the awareness they might be blown up), adding up to a comprehensive, nuanced study of how terrorism transforms lives across the social and political spectra. Interviewees, some more articulate than others, include the families of Jesus Ulayar, the mayor of a small town; chauffeur Francisco Maranon, now elderly and wheelchair-bound, who refers to himself as "a piece of meat with eyes"; two widows of politicians between whom a friendship has developed since their husbands' deaths; Antonio Moreno, who describes how his daughter literally fell apart in his arms as he tried to rescue her from his bombed car; and the brother of politician Ramon Baglietto, killed by a man whom Baglietto had saved as a baby. Docu handles its difficult interviews with unwavering sensitivity and intelligence, focusing on consequences rather than causes; transcending built-in human interest, pic develops into a condemnation of social and organizational indifference to the plight of the victims. Pic notes the refusal of local people to speak out on the subject for fear of retribution; several members of docu's crew asked to be credited with only their initials for exactly this reason. With the helmer's decision not to use voiceover, testimony emerges exclusively from family members. Newsreel footage and homevideo round out the visuals. Editing is fluid and effective, while lensing is neat but sometimes tricksy, as in the occasional use of black-and-white shots of interviewees to suggest the weight of the past on their blighted lives. Music is discreetly used to underpin mood, sometimes needlessly. For the record, helmer has penned a letter to the media requesting the socially significant docu not be removed from Spanish cinema screens before people have had a chance to see it. The movie will be in Spanish with subtitles in English. The trailer is available here, http://www.treceentremil.com/Adicional/Trailer/Trailer.html |
|
| Sponsoring group: | Iberia, Spanish Association at Stanford |
| Event location | |
| Hewlett, Room 103 | |
| Contact | |
| contact person and email: (will not go in newsletter) |
Fernando Gomez Pancorbo, fgomezp@stanford.edu |
| URL for Newsletter: | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486499/ |
